Between that Night and Morning
by BlackRose108
Summary: A filler between the episodes "The Drill" and "The City of Walls and Secrets" in which Aang gives Katara a proper apology for his previous actions and Katara gives Aang the proper comfort. Fluffy Kataang!


**Hey there people! I recently discovered that my stats on writing oneshots was practically growing cobwebs, so I decided since it's summer and I've found myself on a very off midnight hour, why not unwind and write some good ol' Kataang?**

**I noticed this a long time ago while watching episodes 213 and 214 in which that once the gang is done defeating the drill it's sunset, but then at the beginning of 214 when they're finally riding the train into Ba Sing Si it's morning/afternoon. So where did they stay overnight? And what did they do? I thought I'd fill in the blanks.**

Between that Night and Morning

It was after all the adrenaline of defeating Azula and the drill had worn off when Sokka finally put two and two together and realized that Team Avatar had nowhere to sleep that night.

General Sung had informed the city of the Avatar's arrival, but was clear with the fact that they wouldn't have the preparations of their living arrangements finished until the morning at best. Aang had suggested just camping outside the wall for old time's sake since it seemed they'd be spending time in a real house for a while, but General Sung completely forbade it, telling the group of four to just stay in his room for the night.

In two words, it was weird and cramped.

General Sung, of course, only had one bed atop the outer wall for the times when he was stationed there for an over-night shift, so the room, though cozy and well decorated with creature comforts, was still only fit for one person.

Neither Aang nor Toph expressed any kind of real want of taking the queen sized bed, as Toph immediately made a comfortable spot in one of the corners of the room, her back pack tucked under her head and not even bothering to wash up.

"Well, two people can fit in this bed," Katara noted when she looked at the size of it. "And it's not like any of us take up tons of room." Katara turned towards Aang, trying to make her words sound as business-like as possible. "Besides Toph, you and I are the smallest, so we could probably fit." Aang immediately perked up, blushing madly thought trying just as foolishly as Katara was to hide it.

"Oh, well, uh, sure." Aang mumbled.

Sokka glared at the two, before shaking his head and inserting himself between the two. "Oh no," Sokka protested. "I don't think so. You two aren't sharing anything. Me and Katara will take the bed and Aang can sleep on the ground."

"Geez, Sokka, me and Aang aren't as disgusting as you are." Katara sucked her teeth, dropping her bag loudly down on the floor.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Oh, please, I saw you and Suki before she left." Katara smirked.

"That's….different." Sokka blushed as well.

"Oh, will you both _shut up_!" Toph groaned from her corner. "Or else I'll take the bed and all of you prissy folks can sleep on the ground."

"Is she really calling _us_ prissy?" Sokka muttered to his sister but was immediately shut up by Toph's bag being thrown right at his face.

The rest of the night was relatively quiet. As planned, Toph remained in her corner, while Aang slept near the window and Katara and Sokka took the bed. It was awkward and everyone felt a sense of stuffiness about them, but it was only for one night, so they'd just bear it.

It was Katara, though, who was finding trouble sleeping, and it wasn't just because of Sokka's snoring. She turned over to see the sleeping air bender right beside the window, his form bathed in the moonlight the window emitted and she frowned.

He seemed to be in better spirits about Appa than he had been at the beginning of the day. She figured after his speech outside the earth tent that he had finally snapped out of his fog, but she still knew that a few hours wasn't enough time to completely heal. After a an hour or so of silent wondering she decided to quietly get out of her bed, leaning down over the sleeping boy and tap him gently.

"I was wondering when you'd come." He said before she even got a chance to tap him. She jumped back slightly when she realized he was awake.

"You've got to stop doing that." She chastised him softly and smiled when he turned over to face her, sitting up shortly after.

"I'm really alright," Aang told her, as if he had just been reading her mind that night. "So you don't have to worry."

Katara just cast her gaze away from his, biting her lower lip and wrinkling the bottom of her undergarments which she slept in.

"But, you still will, won't you?" Aang said with a heavy sigh.

"You know I will," Katara assured him, almost with a laugh in spite of herself. "But, we're finally here in Ba Sing Si, so we're one step closer to finding Appa."

"Yeah," Aang smiled. "That's good."

Katara exhaled, feeling a little odd with the conversation and decided to just end it there she began to get up to go back to the bed, but Aang held her wrist, keeping her there.

"Um, wait." Aang mumbled.

"What is it?"

"I-I'm sorry." He told her softly, hanging his head in a sort of shame that perplexed Katara. She perked his chin up, forcing him to meet her gaze softly.

"What are you apologizing for?" She asked Aang in a light-hearted chuckle that made his own chest flutter.

"For the way I acted yester and earlier today….I was really distant and well, I shouldn't shut you guys out…you of all people." His head hung even lower with every word he spoke, despite Katara's fingers still lightly resting underneath his chin.

She perked up his gaze again, smiling with what she hoped was reassurance. "Sokka and Toph understand, and so do I. We're all feeling the loss, Aang, we all cared about Appa."

"I know." He sniffled, dragging his arm across his eyes in a sad attempt to stop the oncoming tears from falling. It was no use, though. "It's just so hard." He continued in a broken syllable.

It was then when Aang felt Katara's fingers leave his chin, and soon her arms were outstretched around him, she smiled gratefully towards him.

"Come on," she probed. "You need a hug." Aang lifted his gaze to meet her smile and realized that he was given a second chance for rejecting her hug earlier, and that he wasn't going to make that mistake twice. He wasted no time diving into her arms, sinking down onto her shoulder and tugging her closer than she tugged him. She stroked his back in carful and soothing motions, going up his neck and just glossing over his scalp enough to give him a slight tickle, smirking when she felt him jump a little every time. Aang, on the other hand, was just lost in Katara entirely. Breathing in her every scent, and continuing to sink into her to feel every inch he could.

"See? A hug always makes everything better." She told him knowingly.

"I'm beginning to figure that out." And laughed against her, the rumble of his body against hers making Katara hyper aware of their proximity. She blushed against him, but didn't dare let go. Not until she felt he was content enough the situation.

Unfortunately though….

"And you say I'm disgusting?" They both heard Sokka's voice grumble.

And with that the two broke apart almost instantly, their deep blushes very much visible even in the low and washout light.

"You guys are busted." Sokka smirked.

"We…we were just.." Aang mumbled, trying to look for any kind of comeback. But when he looked over to Katara for help he noticed that she was surprisingly calm. She shook her head at her brother's joy in discovering their embrace and looked over at Aang once last time.

"Do you feel better?" She asked.

"Um, yes…I do….thank you, Katara."

"Good." She smiled before giving him one quick and harmless peck on his cheek while his blush only deepened.

Sokka groaned and rolled his eyes before giving Aang one last look and going back to bed.

"Well, I hope all this traffic movement is finished." Toph suddenly groaned in the corner as well.

"Sorry, Toph." Sokka apologized, even though he knew he wasn't the cause.

"Don't apologize." She told him. "Besides, it wasn't you whose body temperatures were hot enough to catch the room on fire."

"Toph!" Both Aang and Katara exclaimed, only proving her theory, though, when their blushes returned.

**Eh, not my best, not my worst, it's late and I'm tired. **

**Goodnight and reviews are always welcome!**


End file.
